JFDI.Asia

Joyful Frog Digital Incubator
Private Limited
Founded Singapore (2010, as JFDI.Asia Pte Ltd.)
Headquarters Singapore
Key people
 Hugh Mason
(Co-founder and CEO)
Meng Weng Wong
(Co-founder and Chairman)
Website http://JFDI.Asia

JFDI.Asia is a Singapore-based seed accelerator founded by Hugh Mason and Meng Wong in 2010.[1] Like other accelerators, JFDI.Asia offers startups a mix of seed funding, mentorship, and the opportunity to pitch to more investors on “Demo Day.” JFDI has run four batches and now has 50 startups in its portfolio, with founders from 12 countries, primarily India and Southeast Asia. 60% of its graduates go on to raise seed funding.

JFDI.Asia fosters a community of entrepreneurs, mentors and investors in the region.

History

JFDI.Asia is part of the seed accelerator movement inspired by Y Combinator, but also part of a larger innovation entrepreneurship movement which seeks to transmit the culture of Silicon Valley to Southeast Asia by supporting startups.[2]

In 2010, JFDI brought mentors to Southeast Asia to work with Internet entrepreneurs.

In 2011, JFDI conducted startup weekends at six different cities in Asia.[3] JFDI also became a founding member of the Global Accelerator Network, GAN, set up by Techstars.[4]

In 2012, JFDI raised money from angel investors and launched its first bootcamp with 12 teams.

In 2013 and 2014, JFDI ran two bootcamps each.[5]

In March 2014, JFDI.Asia raised S$2.7 million (USD $2.1 million) in funding.[6] The main investors were the investment arm of the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), Silicon-Valley-based FENOX Venture Capital, and Russian firm SpinUp Partners.

Mascot

JFDI is an abbreviation for Joyful Frog Digital Incubator. The frog refers to Asian proverbs regarding wells and oceans. The JFDI mascot is named Smoochy, after the Beanie Baby.[7]

Program Portfolio

JFDI Accelerate Program

The JFDI Accelerate Program is a 100-day program for startup teams. JFDI offers S$25,000 cash investment at the start of the program and over S$100,000 through other services.[8] In turn, JFDI takes a stake of equity of each business. The Demo Day at the end of the program features the teams pitching their business to over 100 investors. Over 60% of the startups that have gone through the program have secured funding. The average amount raised per team is $500,000.

JFDI Discover Program

JFDI Discover is a recently launched 21-day pre-accelerator training program for entrepreneurs, aspiring entrepreneurs or just enthusiasts.[9] Participants are taught Lean Startup methodology and customer development practices.[10]

Portfolio Companies

JFDI has invested or mentored the follosing companies[11][12]

Just Graduated!

  1. Bakipa, from Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore, a specialized marketplace for new and used children’s products. (2015A)
  2. Boxgreen, from Singapore, a technology-enabled food brand in Asia that formulates and delivers healthier snacks directly to members’ desk or doorstep. (2015A)
  3. FirstRide, from India, a marketplace for new cars helping consumers buy cars online & helping dealers increase their margins. (2015A)
  4. Hijab2go, from Canada, Denmark, and Malaysia - a mobile commerce application that helps Muslim women try on thousands of fashion products virtually before buying. (2015A)
  5. Lets CATCHUP, from India, a better job recruitment through college alumni networks. (2015A)
  6. Peddle, from Myanmar, Australia, and United States - a mobile marketplace for Myanmar. (2015A)
  7. Strike, from India, a mobile-first people research platform, for email power users. (2015A)
  8. Taembe, from United States and Vietnam, making moms' life easier. (2015A)
  9. Wiindi, from Vietnam, a shopping discovery app for Vietnam. (2015A)

Series-A funded Alumni

  1. Tradegecko, from New Zealand, is a B2B web-based service providing supply chain management for independent brands and their retailers. (2012A)

Acquired Alumni

  1. Flocations, from France, Singapore and Canada, is a B2C web travel service that visualizes nearby destinations on an interactive map, so leisure travellers can browse by budget and book their next getaway in minutes, not hours. (2012A)

Seed funded Alumni

  1. Appknox, from India, is a mobile app vulnerability detection and security certification service. (2014A)
  2. Collabspot, from France and Philippines, has a novel approach to enterprise email sales platform. (2013A)
  3. DataStreamX, from Canada and Singapore, a marketplace for real-time data from M2M, IoT and Big Data # applications. (2014B)
  4. Digify, from Singapore, confidential and secure document sharing for Businesses. (2014B)
  5. Healint, from France, provides behavior analytics for neurologists and healthcare providers to strengthen medical decisions with contextual information(2013B)
  6. FamilyKo, from Philippines, is a B2C multi-platform app that allows families separated by business to bond and grow together. (2012A)
  7. Fetch Fans, from USA and Australia, is a B2B web service that gives brand franchises with local businesses control and analytics as they use social media to maximise impact for all their franchisees. (2012A)
  8. Glints, from Singapore, is like LinkedIn for Youths. (2014A)
  9. Greyloft, from Singapore, is like Uber for real estate rentals. (2014A)
  10. Kark Mobile Education, from Indonesia, is a B2C tablet game platform using collectible QR cards to make 4–12 year old children masters of a simulated world. (2012A)
  11. Klinify, from Singapore and India, is developing a software for medical practice management. (2013A)
  12. OurHealthMate, from Singapore, is working on health and wellness. (2013A)
  13. ShopSpot, from Thailand, is a C2C mobile app that makes buying and selling items as easy as sending a tweet. (2012A)
  14. TribeHired, from Malaysia, is the social recruitment platform for fast-growing start-ups that puts friends to work. (2012A)
  15. Vault Dragon, from Singapore, provides off-site storage solution delivered to customers’ doorstep. (2013B)

Active Alumni - growing organically or fundraising

  1. Casting DB, from Singapore, a social platform that reinvents the casting call. (2014B)
  2. Codetoki, from Philippines, is developing tomorrow’s developers. (2014A)
  3. Duable, from the USA and Taiwan, leverages computational linguistic to customise language learning material. (2013A)
  4. enMarkit, from India, enables eCommerce marketers/analytics team build social graph and convert visitors to customers. (2013B)
  5. Geckolife, from Singapore and United States, a safe social app for Families, Children and Groups. (2014B)
  6. Heyleela, from India and Australia, a Mobile fashion search, discovery, and inspiration
  7. for the Indian woman. (2014B)
  8. Kallfly, from Philippines, is an on-Demand Virtual Contact Center Marketplace. (2014A)
  9. Krake, from Singapore and New Zealand, is developing a data harvesting engine. (2013A)
  10. MediaLink, from India, is a Public Relations marketplace connecting businesses, journalists, and sources. (2014A)
  11. MOLOME, from Thailand, is a photo sharing platform designed to turn youths’ and young adults’ photos into social memes. (2013B)
  12. Oroscas, from Philippines, enabling microfinance groups to manage their finances better. (2014B)
  13. QLC.io, from Australia, career and lifestyle portal for the restless millennial. (2014B)
  14. Quickly, from India, is an automated productivity tool, triggered by inbound email, integrating applications on the cloud. (2014A)
  15. Qwikwire, from Philippines and USA, is a cross-border payment platform for the banked and underbanked in emerging markets to process invoicing and recurring billing. (2013B)
  16. Rushbike, from Thailand and Moldova, “Uber” for motorcycle delivery in Bangkok. (2014B)
  17. RyMM Education, from India, supporting productive partnerships between partners and teachers. (2014B)
  18. Scrollback, from India, is developing a real time embeddable community tool. (2013A)
  19. Shareboard, from India, Cloudless P2P file sharing on mobile. (2014B)
  20. Silent Eight, from Poland, Next-Generation enterprise search. (2014B)
  21. StoryRoll, from Lithuania, brings micro-video to e-commerce. (2014A)
  22. StylHunt, from Thailand, offers search for online shops you can trust. (2014A)
  23. TapTalents, from Singapore, is a mobile corporate training platform that creates personalized on-the-job training for distributed workforce. (2013B)
  24. Telefun, from Philippines, Massively multiplayer television. (2014B)
  25. UserScout, from Singapore and Vietnam, is a user research targeted process management system. (2013A)
  26. Wikasa, from Indonesia, offers instant slidecast creation, publication, and sharing. (2014A)

Folded Alumni

  1. Arena, from Singapore, offers metrics to help young star professionals stand out for promotion. (2014)
  2. Celuv, from Korea, is like Flipboard for Fashion Shopping: gamified discovery and lead generation on mobile. (2014A)
  3. Obatech, from Canada and Taiwan, offers patient insights to pharmaceutical decision-makers by collecting data through its mobile-based rewards platform for chronic patients. (2013B)
  4. Remember, a B2C mobile app is the family Time Capsule in your pocket that makes it simple to capture and relive memories on your smartphone. (2012A)
  5. Skimbl, from France, offers service quality audits for F&B groups. (2013B)
  6. Stubb, a B2B document sharing service for the masses that connects your printer to the cloud. Anything you can print, you can publish online. (2012A)
  7. Trafflers, a B2C web service that makes it fun to discover and plan vacations with friends, thereby increasing the frequency and size of group travel bookings online. (2012A)
  8. Wildby, a fun talking encyclopedia on your iPhone that 5 to 12 year olds can enjoy without needing any literacy skills. (2012A)

References

  1. ↑ Wee, W. (2011, September 27). JFDI: We’re Going To Create Success In 3 Ways. Retrieved July 2014, from Tech In Asia Web site: http://www.techinasia.com/jfdi/
  2. ↑ Wee, W. (2013, April 30). JFDI: The Frog’s Story, Secret Sauce, and Challenges. Retrieved July 2014, from Tech In Asia Web site: http://www.techinasia.com/jfdi-story-secret-sauce-challenges/
  3. ↑ Singtel. (2011, September 26). JFDI partners SingTel Innov8 to bring successful start-up acceleration programme to Asia Pacific. Retrieved July 2014, from Singtel Web site: http://info.singtel.com/node/9881
  4. ↑ Special Report:Tech Startups The Economist. (2014, January 18). Getting up to speed. Retrieved July 2014, from The Economist Web site: http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21593592-biggest-professional-training-system-you-have-never-heard-getting-up-speed
  5. ↑ Russell, J. (2014, January 23). Good news for entrepreneurs in Southeast Asia: JFDI Asia will run 3 accelerator programs in 2014. Retrieved July 2014, from TheNextWeb Web site: http://thenextweb.com/asia/2014/01/23/good-news-for-entrepreneurs-in-southeast-asia-jfdi-asia-will-run-3-accelerator-programs-in-2014/
  6. ↑ Mishra, P. (2014, March 17). JFDI Accelerator Raises $2.1M To Help Singapore Become Southeast Asia’s Startup Hub. Retrieved July 2014, from Tech Crunch Web site: http://techcrunch.com/2014/03/17/jfdi-accelerator-raises-2-1m-to-help-singapore-become-southeast-asias-startup-hub/
  7. ↑ JFDI.Asia. (2014, August 13). Five Fabulous Frog Facts . Retrieved July 2014, from JFDI.Asia Web site: http://jfdi.asia/aboutus/frogs/
  8. ↑ Lee, T. (2013, August 2009). Singapore accelerator JFDI.Asia unveils diverse crop of startups for next bootcamp. Retrieved July 2014, from Yahoo Singapore Finance: https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/singapore-accelerator-jfdi-asia-unveils-000044551.html
  9. ↑ Digital News Asia. (2014, June 4). Serious about entrepreneurship? Find out with JFDI Discovery. Retrieved July 2014, from Digital New Asia Web site: http://www.digitalnewsasia.com/sizzle-fizzle/serious-about-entrepreneurship-find-out-with-jfdi-discovery
  10. ↑ Huang, E. (2014, June 4). JFDI’s new 21-day programme to help startups find ‘problem-customer’ fit. Retrieved July 2014, from e27 Web site: http://e27.co/jfdi-launches-21-day-programme-for-startups-to-find-problem-customer-fit-20140603/
  11. ↑ JFDI Portfolio Companies http://www.jfdi.asia/portfolio
  12. ↑ Crunchbase List https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/jfdi-asia/investments
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